Instructional software serves one of five teaching functions. Software packages may have multiple functions therefore teachers may have to analyze a package to ensure it meets their specific teaching needs.
Drill-and-Practice
- Provide practice activities
- Students work individually
- Flashcard activities are the most basic drill and practice function: math fact flashcards available at http://www.dep.anl.gov/aattack.htm from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory
- An entire instructional sequence on a particular topic
- Can be used without additional help or materials
- Linear tutorials deliver direct instruction in a sequence of explanation, practice and feedback to all students regardless of performance
- Branching tutorials direct students along different paths depending their mastery of the material
- Computerized models of real or imagined systems designed to teach how the systems work
- Physical simulations teach students to manipulate processes represented on the screen
- Iterative simulations speed up or slow down processes and allow students to observe changes as they unfold
- Physical and Iterative science simulations available from BBC Schools at http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/index_flash.shtml
- Procedural simulations teach the proper sequence of steps to perform certain procedures
- Instructional games add game-like rules or competition to learning activities
- Similar to drills or simulations with appealing formats and activities
- Instructional math games available at: http://www.aplusmath.com/games/
Problem-Solving Software
- Designed specifically for developing problem-solving skills
- Require students to observe, recall information, sequence, analyze, make predictions and inferences, and draw conclusions
- May focus on mathematics or science content-area problems
- May take a content-free approach
Integrated Learning Systems
- Computer-based instruction with reports of student progress
- Combine drill-and-practice, tutorials, simulations, problem-solving, reference and tool software
- Each lesson tied to specific objectives
- Lessons are integrated into the standard curriculum
- Teacher monitors student progress though reports that indicate lessons completed, percentage of accuracy, time spent on a lesson and test, pretest and post-test data
- May be accessed through a networked server or downloaded from the Internet
Roblyer, M. D. and Doering, A. H. (2010). Integrating Technology into Teaching. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
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